Vetta RT88

Price Paid:  $0.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
any time I am on my bike

Bike Setup:
Devinci CX
Devinci Desperado

Summary:
I bought 2 of these and they are both dead. They worked great for the first 6 months, then started failing giving erroneous readings. Replaced battery twice in 3 months.

I am going back to a wired setup

Weaknesses:
Only works for 6 months (both units I bought)

Similar Products Used:
Cateye (I am going back to Cateye)

Price Paid:  $25.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
any road

Bike Setup:
Stock Trek 5000

Summary:
Easy clean setup. No wires in the way.Followed the directions for installation and use and have had no major problems so far.

Strengths:
For the money a pretty good unit.

Weaknesses:
No auto resume, have to manually start after taking a rest. Small display, hard to read in some conditions.

Similar Products Used:
Trek

Price Paid:  $40.00 at Shaw's Santa Clara

Favorite Ride:
OLH-Alpine

Bike Setup:
Lugged Davidson Impulse, Suntour Superbe Pro, other ancient hardware.

Summary:
This unit was installed by LBS, so I cannot comment on that. Has operated perfectly for 6 months. Easy to use, accurate, small but legible display, no issues.

Strengths:
Met all my expectations. Don't understand/cannot explain some of the bad reviews this unit has.

Weaknesses:
Does not turn on automatically, and turns itself off after 5 minutes of inactivity. Transmitter battery only lasted 6 months. Giving 4 instead of 5 overall because of these items.

Price Paid:  $15.00 at Ebay

Favorite Ride:
Central Park NYC

Bike Setup:
2005 FCR 3, SRAM X.0 Rear Derailer, X.9 Shifters, Fizik Pave’ Ti Saddle.

Summary:
I too am at a loss about any negative reviews. I suppose I am pretty technically proficient when it comes to putting things together and installing things but frankly the installation process with the RT88 was so simple and straight forward, I find it shocking that anyone could have a problem installing it.

The key is that there needs to be a relatively small gap between the fork mount and the magnet. This is easily accomplished by attaching the fork mount sensor with the zip ties but not tightening them all the way and the same for the spoke magnet. Then shift the spoke magnet up on your spoke progressively higher until it meets the fork sensor.

First time I did it, I wasn't getting a reading so I simply pushed the fork sensor slightly inward so that the gap between the unit and the magnet lessened and presto - it worked and has worked perfectly ever since. It certainly beats having a bunch of wires everywhere. Also the fact that I paid $15 for it on ebay - really can't complain about anything.

Strengths:
Small and out of sight. Clear and very readable display. Nice looking exterior unit. Despite what others have said - easy installation and clear instructions.

Weaknesses:
Only weakness is that you have to manually restart the computer.

Price Paid:  $40.00 at Internet

Favorite Ride:
Anything is a good ride

Bike Setup:
2004 Giant TCR 1 Composite. Look Pedals.

Summary:
I guess I am at a loss as well for all the negative reviews...I put this on my roadbike in about 10 minutes and it has worked perfectly ever since other than just a battery change. For the type of riding I do it has more than enough features, many I don't ordinarly use except for century rides where actual ride time and total elapsed time is nice to see. I had this unit on one bike and bought a new bike early 2004, and switching it over was seamless.

Strengths:
Easy set up for me, never had a problem at all.

Weaknesses:
I haven't found one yet.

Similar Products Used:
Cateye and Vetta